The wait is over, as Doom: The Dark Ages is now available to play. If you haven’t picked up the game yet, we’ve got even better news: It’s already on sale for Xbox and PC so you can save some cash before jumping in. Fanatical and GMG are offering a nice little discount on it right now for PC players (17% off down to $58.09) while Newegg is offering an Xbox digital code for $10 off with promo code EPESA522 (dropping it to $59.99).
No better time than now to pick up the shield and start bashing your way through the armies of Hell. Head to the links below to take advantage of these deals while they’re still available.
Doom: The Dark Ages PC Deal
PC gamers can save 17% on a Steam code by picking the new Doom game up at Fanatical or Green Man Gaming.
Doom: The Dark Ages Xbox Deal (Digital)
Xbox owners can get a copy on sale for $59.99 at Newegg when they enter promo code EPESA522 at checkout. The code also unlocks access on Windows.
IGN’s Mitchell Saltzman spoke very highly of Doom: The Dark Ages in our 9/10 review. In it he said, “Far from just being “More Doom,” Doom: The Dark Ages is a new flavor of the legendary shooter series that’s heavier and more grounded, but no less energetic and exhilarating. The new shield is an outstanding addition that adds a ton of both offensive and defensive options, and when combined with the extensive arsenal of traditional Doom guns, provides a ton of fun and exciting ways to dispatch the hundreds upon thousands of demons that stand in your way.”
If you’re itching to pick up more discounted PC games for your Steam library, there are plenty more deals to check out right now, including on some newer releases. You can see some of our top discounts at the moment in our overall roundup of the best video game deals, which includes a deal on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered for PC. Even Elden Ring Nightreign is discounted right now for PC, if you want to save on your preorder of FromSoft’s latest.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.
Extraction shooters are, at this point, a dime a dozen. And for my money, you’ve got to really do something different to stand out in that increasingly crowded genre. That’s why I was eager to meet up with a couple of developers from the team at Good Fun Corporation so they could show me Hunger, their upcoming zombie-tastic Unreal Engine 5-powered first-person action-RPG that utilizes an extraction loop.
Yes, the developers specifically phrased it that way, as they seemingly aren’t looking to be thought of as just another extraction shooter. And in fairness to them, based on what I saw of an impressive early build (the team’s Early Access launch is still far enough away that they weren’t comfortable giving me an on-the-record release window quite yet), Hunger is going to be anything but another generic extraction shooter in the Steam pile.
Two things about Hunger piqued my interest immediately: its visual aesthetic and its actual visuals. Starting with the former, game director Maximilian Rea described Hunger’s look as “Renaissance gothic,” which seems like a fair way to sum it up. As you can see in the videos and screenshots in this article, Hunger mixes first-gen firearms with brutal melee weapons inside of filthy lived-in towns and glorious castles. And then, in terms of raw graphics, the foliage, lighting, and texture detail are all absolutely stunning. This is easily one of the best uses of Unreal Engine 5 I’ve seen so far.
This is easily one of the best uses of Unreal Engine 5 I’ve seen so far.
But, you might ask, how does it actually play? Sadly I can’t answer that quite yet, as my demo was just a hands-off first look, but it does seem built to last. In short, the team tells me, they’re aiming for the simplicity of ARC Raiders with the complexity of Escape From Tarkov. You begin in the Outer Ramparts, a social, violence-free hub within the Chateau where other players and NPCs alike roam. Like Destiny, you can switch to third-person perspective here if you like (though in proper combat, you’ll always be in first-person). Here you can shop with Piro, a quirky shopkeeper who wears a weird metal mask and offers items up for sale on a tray that’s worn around his neck as if he’s some cigarette girl from the 1920’s. Or you can add or remove items from your stash by checking in with Louis, the Stashmaster who also doles out the occasional quest. Reynauld, meanwhile, is the Expedition Master. He’s missing parts of a couple fingers, indicating that he’s tussled with the zombies at least once, and talking to him queues you into an expedition (i.e. a raid).
The initial Early Access release will have three maps: Jacques Bridge, Sombre Forest, and Sarlat Farm. Each is one square kilometer, and each one has a big dungeon beneath it as well. Expect six weather varieties per map, including noon (clear), noon (fog), sunset, and sunrise. More dynamic stuff will be added post-release. Rea explained that they’re aiming for 50-60 hours of content here, and then you unlock the Cauldron, a new area of the Chateau. You will learn your profession there. There are six professions: three gathering (like Scavenging, which means you’re a purveyor of metals and materials; a Conservator who finds mechanisms and trinkets to make tools or guns; and the Naturalist, who gathers herbs and spices to make food, drinks, and medicine) and three crafting (examples here include Metallurgy, Gunsmithing, and Cooking). You can have two professions at a time.
The story of this map is that there was civil conflict when The End – the bacteria that led to the Hunger – began. As you play, there’s lore to find and extract with. Missives and Maps, as examples of this, are Common, Rare, or Legendary. And if you extract with a Missive you can read it back in the Chateau and get a quest’s worth of XP, and once you’ve found everything you can read the whole story of the game. The developers also plan to tell the story through NPC dialogue. “We try to infuse every aspect of the game with story,” Rea told me.
The Hunger all have different qualities and aspects, which means that going melee-only has the advantage of letting you be silent. Shooting, on the other hand, makes noise and invites more Hunger. The Bloater, as an example of one such Hunger, is a blob-like thing that explodes into a cloud of poisonous gas. Shambler hits, meanwhile, cause bleed damage.
Going melee-only has the advantage of letting you be silent. Shooting, on the other hand, makes noise and invites more Hunger.
There are a whopping 33 weapons between melee and ranged, from daggers, pistols, and rifles to maces and primitive machine guns. You can find exotic ammo for the guns that add additional damage effects to the bullets. And yes, there will be dedicated PvP experiences if you need to scratch that itch. Furthermore, there’s a Mastery Tree, and as you level up from 10-100 you get a mastery point. This includes four trees: Physiology, Survival, Martial, and Cunning, and the developers hope this ensures there are multiple ways to progress through the game besides PvP.
In fact, you can play solo or in duos if you want as well. “Being a solo or duo player isn’t a death sentence,” Rea said. “In fact it’s one of the quickest ways to progress in the game.” You’ll also unlock progression cosmetics as well when you level up, kill bosses, etc. And yes, there are cosmetics for every weapon and bag.
Hunger won’t be free-to-play, which hopefully helps ensure its design principles won’t be compromised by pay-to-win nonsense, and there definitely won’t be any battle passes. They did mention a “Support the Developers” edition that would include extra cosmetics for whatever it ends up priced at above the $30 the team is aiming for on the standard edition.
As to how long a session might last, Rea suggested that the low end of an expedition might be 30-35 minutes, hopefully ensuring that Hunger is an easy game to jump in for a little while with at night with friends, and then go to bed feeling accomplished and not feeling guilty for having hopped off of some live-service hamster wheel. If and when you die, everything you do contributes to XP gains, so the goal is for you to never have a pointless session. “If they’ve played for an hour, we want them to feel like they’ve meaningfully moved the ball forward for their character,” Rea said.
Hunger might still be a ways away, but from what I’ve already seen, it looks like the team – who also made Hell Let Loose – is cooking up something unique and worth keeping an eye on. We’ll have more on Hunger on IGN as development progresses.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
Into To The Restless is a roguelite dungeon crawler where you build the dungeon as you go. I really enjoyed the demo, and the full game is out today. In a show of confidence I always appreciate, the demo is also still available. Launch trailer below. It’s got a quote from one of my articles in it, although they opted not to use the phrase “like hailstones battering the word ‘bum’ into soft cement” for some reason. Perplexing times we live in.
2nd April 2025 will go down as a big day in Nintendo history for a lot of reasons. For one, it was when Nintendo finally lifted the lid on Switch 2, showcasing the console, its games and the all-important price and release date. It was also when, for some of us, our Switch 1 playtime tanked.
The new console may have ignited a renewed passion for all things Nintendo, but with a shinier, newer Switch right around the corner, the idea of going back to the machine that has kept us going for the last eight years didn’t seem quite so attractive to some. And so, just like Andy abandoning Woody for Buzz in Toy Story, anecdotally, we’ve heard of Switch 1 units spending the last few weeks gathering dust for one reason or another.
Somehow, DOOM: The Dark Ages’ most versatile new weapon… isn’t what you’d initially recognize as a weapon at all. The latest entry in id Software’s legendarily bloodthirsty series brings a lot of new ideas to the wartable – a tech-medieval setting, a prequel story for the DOOM Slayer, and all-new mechanics in the form of mechs, dragons, and open zone sequences, to name a few – but perhaps the most impactful is its new mantra of “stand and fight”.
After the run and gun corridor antics of DOOM(2016) and the unexpectedly athletic take with DOOM Eternal, The Dark Ages riffs on the classic DOOM feeling of walking into a room, planting yourself in a prime position, and taking down all comers. And it’s all rooted in the Shield Saw, your disc-shaped ticket to destruction.
We’re not necessarily used to seeing the Slayer protecting himself, but the Shield Saw takes the old phrase, “the best offence is a good defence” and yanks it all the way to its logical conclusion. Far from being a way to hunker down and take pot shots, the Shield Saw is a multi-purpose means of taking down enemies efficiently while keeping your precious armor and hit points intact.
Here are the many ways you’ll be using it:
Blocking and Parrying
One of the very first things DOOM: The Dark Ages teaches you is how to block. Pull the left trigger and the Slayer raises his shield, soaking up projectiles with the minimum of fuss. Of course, a DOOM game simply will not allow you to cower, so be aware that, after a few hits, your block will be broken. Think of this less as a means to stand back, and more like a way to close the distance into more Shotgun-friendly range.
And how you block is critically important – you’ll soon learn about parrying. If you see a green-colored projectile, or an enemy wreathed in green energy before a melee attack, take this as a sign. A well-timed block on one of these attacks, just before it hits, will send projectiles bouncing back to sender, or breaking the stance of a close-quarters creature. Both are invaluable for thinning out weaker demons, or opening up stronger ones to uninterrupted punishment. Later in the game, you’ll also unlock Shield Runes, which add extra effects upon a successful parry – but we won’t spoil those here. You should really find out about them yourself.
If you’re finding the parry window a little too tough to hit (or not tough enough!) you can adjust the parry window in the options menu at any time. With a combination of blocks and parries, you can wade into a sea of enemies, safe in the knowledge that you won’t just clear a room, but do it without getting a nick in your armor.
Shield Charge
Sometimes, blocking just leaves you feeling a bit far from the action. The Shield Charge is the perfect tonic. When blocking, you’ll notice a target appearing on the enemy closest to your crosshairs – and pressing the right trigger will send you hurtling towards them at inhuman speed for a high damage attack.
At its most basic level, the Shield Charge is the perfect way to get up close unexpectedly, letting you use shorter-range weapons like the Shotgun or Accelerator to do massive damage quickly. But the Charge also comes with the added benefit of being an extremely effective room-clearer – hitting an enemy will also deal damage to all the enemies immediately around them. Pick a target in a crowd of cannon fodder, and you can effectively clear the entire group with a Charge in a single bloody pop.
Picking the right target is key – blindly charging at a fully mobile boss enemy is unlikely to help you too much, but certain enemies, like Stone Imps, are particularly weak to the Charge, setting off an explosion as you hit. You could also use it to target an enemy above you, effectively using it as a platforming tool to take up new ground. As you get to grips with the ability (and its short cooldown), you’ll find it to be as much an efficiency tool as it is a horrifyingly powerful weapon.
Shield Throw
Early in the game, you’ll add that titular Saw to your Shield, at which point you’ll unlock the Shield Throw. This unbelievably gratifying maneuver lets you press the left bumper to (literally) let rip. A shield throw will instantly bisect weaker enemies – even multiple enemies, if you line them up right – and will embed itself in stronger ones, giving you a stun window to work with.
Best of all, the Shield Throw is particularly effective against armor. Pretty soon, you’ll see demons toting shields, or bosses wrapped in bullet-resistant metal – but gunfire isn’t wholly useless here. Fire your weapons at them, and you’ll start heating that metal, and once you see it reach incandescent levels, a single Shield Throw will shatter it. Against enemies in armor, this will blow it off, opening them up to more attacks. Smaller enemies with shields, however, will simply… burst in spectacular fashion. If you see a line of enemies with shields, that one throw will destroy all of them, like they’re living bowling pins.
Puzzle Solving
Clearly not content with being a useful tool for attack and defence, your Shield Saw is also a way of making your way around The Dark Ages’ levels – including their many secrets. The Shield Charge can be used to destroy weak walls (look out for a circular symbol daubed on them), used to jump by embedding in specific environmental details and then recalling it to pull yourself up, or to destroy superheated locks with a quick Throw.
If you’re struggling to work out how to reach a secret area, the Shield is very often the key to making it in. There are more puzzly uses later in the game to discover, too – we’ll let you reach them yourself.
Upgrades
Clearly, the Shield Saw can do a lot out of the box – but there’s always more. Once you discover the game’s Sentinel Shrines – the home of The Dark Ages’ upgrade system – you’ll discover more options for adding to your arm-mounted tool’s abilities.
Aside from those afore-mentioned Shield Runes, the Shield has an upgrade tree that can increase damage, help clear more fodder enemies, or even cause it to bounce between enemies who carry energy-based shields. But look out for mentions of the Shield in other upgrade trees, too. The Shredder weapon, for instance, can unlock an ability that will ricochet shots out of an enemy with a Saw embedded in them. The Power Gauntlet melee weapon can also be upgraded to recharge itself with successful parries.
Choose your upgrades right and you can build an arsenal that doesn’t just include the Shield, but centers around using it.
DOOM: The Dark Ages arrives today for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox PC, Steam, Battle.net, PlayStation 5, and cloud. It’s available day one with Game Pass, and is an Xbox Play Anywhere title.
Pre-order now to receive the Void DOOM Slayer Skin at launch.
Get a head start on slaying demons with the Premium Edition, including up to 2-Day Early Access* and the campaign DLC**. You’ll also receive the Digital Artbook and Soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack, which includes matching skins for the DOOM Slayer, dragon and Atlan.
INCLUDES:
– Base Game (digital code)
– Up to 2-Day Early Access
– Campaign DLC
– Digital Artbook and Soundtrack
– Divinity Skin Pack
*Actual play time depends on purchase date and applicable time zone differences, subject to possible outages.
**DLC availability to be provided at a later date.
BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL
DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine.
STAND AND FIGHT
As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for. Take flight atop the new fierce Mecha Dragon, stand tall in a massive Atlan mech, and beat demons to a pulp with the newly enhanced glory kill system. Only the Slayer has the power to wield these devastating tools of mayhem.
REIGN IN HELL
Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war.
DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMS
In his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id’s largest and most expansive levels to date.
Pre-order now to receive the Void DOOM Slayer Skin at launch.
Get a head start on slaying demons with the Premium Upgrade*, including up to 2-Day Early Access**, the campaign DLC***, Digital Artbook and Soundtrack, and the Divinity Skin Pack, which includes matching skins for the DOOM Slayer, dragon and Atlan.
INCLUDES:
– Up to 2-Day Early Access
– Campaign DLC
– Digital Artbook and Soundtrack
– Divinity Skin Pack
*Base Game required (sold separately)
**Actual play time depends on purchase date and applicable time zone differences, subject to possible outages.
***DLC availability to be provided at a later date.
BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL
DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine.
STAND AND FIGHT
As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for. Take flight atop the new fierce Mecha Dragon, stand tall in a massive Atlan mech, and beat demons to a pulp with the newly enhanced glory kill system. Only the Slayer has the power to wield these devastating tools of mayhem.
REIGN IN HELL
Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war.
DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMS
In his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id’s largest and most expansive levels to date.
Pre-order now to receive the Void DOOM Slayer Skin at launch.
BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL
DOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine.
STAND AND FIGHT
As the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for. Take flight atop the new fierce Mecha Dragon, stand tall in a massive Atlan mech, and beat demons to a pulp with the newly enhanced glory kill system. Only the Slayer has the power to wield these devastating tools of mayhem.
REIGN IN HELL
Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war.
DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMS
In his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id’s largest and most expansive levels to date.
The best part of working on Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yōtei has been getting the opportunity to go on reference gathering trips to Japan. As an American, I had primarily seen the country through the lens of beloved classic samurai movies. But actually going there, feeling the wind on your face, smelling pine forests, and meeting locals is deeply inspiring. Everyone from Sucker Punch that went on those reference gathering trips came back to the studio with a driving passion to bring a sense of authenticity to our fictional depiction of these real life places. We strive to create an original landscape which captures the feeling of the real location, then to set players free inside it, allowing them to explore as they will, following their curiosity.
But most of all, the trips are humbling. I vividly remember standing on a beach in Tsushima, the same beach where 80 samurai died attempting to defend their home from a Mongol invasion. The people on both sides of that conflict were real. All of us at Sucker Punch wanted to do right by the reality of Tsushima’s history, even though we were going to tell a fictional story in a digital version of Tsushima that was not a stone for stone recreation of the island. We felt that by listening to our cultural advisors and by doing research we could deliver a respectful representation of what made Tsushima so special. To deliver a feeling of authenticity and believability to our fictional story.
For Ghost of Yōtei, we’re doing the same thing.
So, how did we pick the setting for our new game? That’s easy, Hokkaido is unbelievably beautiful and in 1603 it was the edge of the Japanese empire. Back then it was called Ezo, a mysterious island to the north, sparsely populated by Wajin (Japanese) people bold enough to build a life for themselves in the cold wilderness. This combination of beauty and danger spoke to us. It was the perfect place to tell Atsu’s tale; a warrior so driven by revenge that locals start to believe she’s an onryō walking the land. If you’re going to tell a ghost story, do it in a dramatic location.
The Sucker Punch reference gathering team from left to right: Ian Ryan, Jason Connell, Nate Fox, JoAnna Wang, Rob Davis, Ryuhei Katami.
Sucker Punch sent out two reference gathering trips, both exploring different areas of Hokkaido. Thankfully, our group visited Shiretoko National Park. A place that effortlessly combines natural beauty and a sense of danger. While hiking through the park, taking in majestic views of ocean waves crashing on towering cliffs we spotted a number of trees scarred by bears sharpening their claws. This forest was their home, we were the outsiders. Suddenly we had to split our attention between gazing up at the beautiful snowcapped mountains and looking down at the nearby bushes in case there was a predator nearby. That experience was magic! A perfect marriage of beauty and danger, that was the exact feeling we wanted for our game. For me, that was the moment I knew Hokkaido was the right choice.
See the claw marks on that tree? Would you want to camp in that forest?
While traveling in another part of Hokkaido we were introduced to a mountain so tall it seemed to be watching over everyone on the island. You guessed it, it was Mt. Yōtei, which the Ainu call ‘the Female Mountain’. Of course, on the trip we’d been thinking a lot about our hero. Hearing the Ainu name for the mountain really bonded it to Atsu. For us, Yotei became a symbol of Hokkaido. While for Atsu, it’s a symbol of home and of the family she lost. This process of being there, talking about the game with locales, then synthesizing new ideas is what made the trip so fulfilling.
Mount Yōtei, so tall it pierces the clouds.
Here are some photos we took during this research trip:
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As you can see, we were all very inspired by the natural beauty of Hokkaido. The landscape spoke to us and we’ve done our best to capture the spirit of it in our fictional version of the island. But that wasn’t all we learned while on this trip. As a bunch of Americans we knew how ignorant we were about Japanese culture. To help start to solve that problem we met with a wealth of knowledgeable individuals and visited important cultural sites… but more on that at a later date.
The Pokémon Company has confirmed the Pokémon Fossil Museum is coming to North America in May 2026.
If you’re wondering what on earth the Pokémon Fossil Museum is, it’s… well, it’s exactly what it says on the tin. After its debut in Japan, this special exhibition, which compares fabricated Pokémon “fossils” with “ancient lifeforms found in real-world fossils,” is coming to Chicago’s Field Museum on May 22, 2026. It’ll be the first time the exhibition travels beyond Japan.
“During your visit, you’ll see vibrant Pokémon models side by side with extinct lifeforms from the Field Museum’s collection — including scientific casts of Field Museum dinosaurs like SUE the T. rex and the Chicago Archaeopteryx next to Fossil Pokémon like Tyrantrum and Archeops,” explained the museum. “How many differences (and similarities) will you spot, Trainers?”
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Grotesque new platform game Gennady takes place in a squelchy, eminently punchable world of procedurally generated, wriggling alien cubes. Burst a cube and you’ll be rewarded with juicy, golden maggots and a shower of delightful green ooze. Sometimes the ooze spawns a grotty little janitor monster, who slinks up behind you with mop in tentacle. Yes, this is a game in which the filth tries to clean up after itself. Good luck with that, filth. Here’s a trailer.
A man in the UK has been arrested after police discovered he was harboring a cache of stolen Pokémon cards worth £250,000 (approx. $332,500).
The hoard was discovered after Greater Manchester Police raided a home in Hyde, Tameside, on the outskirts of Greater Manchester. It contained cards still in their original plastic labelling and price tags, with some individual cards worth up to £560 (approx. $744).
As spotted by the BBC, a police spokesman joked in a post on Facebook: “Gotta catch ’em all.” The force is now trying to reunite the cards with their rightful owners.
“An interesting warrant in #Hyde yesterday morning, supported by your Neighbourhood policing teams,” the statement from Tameside Police read. “Seizure of thousands of stolen, high-value Pokémon cards with an estimated worth of over £250,000. Attempts will now be made to return the cards to the original owners. One male arrested.
Perhaps that’s why finding Pokémon cards in 2025 isn’t as easy as it should be. Between Destined Rivals preorders vanishing in seconds, new split expansion sets in Black Bolt and White Flare, and Journey Together chase cards dominating every feed, Pokémon TCG has never felt more intense. But if you’re trying to keep up with Pokémon TCG without getting ripped off or left behind, check out our guide on the best places to start, including the latest update on what can be bought where from trusted retailers in the U.S.
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
If you were a fan of Hello Kitty Island Adventure and all its New Horizons-inspired cosiness when it arrived on Switch earlier this year, then boy, do we have a surprise for you. The life-sim’s first major content update has sidestepped its planned release date and landed on the Nintendo hybrid a week early — what a treat.
The ‘Friends, Furniture, and Frozen Peaks’ update arrived on Steam last month, with dev Sunblink adding a 22nd May release date for the Switch version. It seemed to be full steam ahead on the later launch until yesterday evening, when the studio appeared on Twitter to make the surprise announcement that the update is, in fact, available right now. What’s more, it’s free!
